|
Five aircraft, a chopper gutted in Hyderabad airport fire
Tuesday December 18, 2012 03:50:40 PM,
IANS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hyderabad:
Five aircraft and a helicopter, which flies the Andhra Pradesh
chief minister, were gutted in a major fire at old Hyderabad
airport late Monday night, officials said Tuesday.
There are no reports of any casualties in the fire that broke out
around midnight at the maintenance shed of Andhra Pradesh Aviation
Academy at the airport located in the heart of the city at
Begumpet, popularly known as Begumpet airport.
Minister for Ports and Airports G. Srinivasa Rao told reporters
Tuesday that five trainee aircraft of the academy and an Augusta
Westland helicopter of the state government were destroyed in the
fire.
The 15-seater Augusta AW 139 was purchased by the state government
in 2008 from Augusta Westland Italy for Rs.63 crore.
The minister said the chopper was insured and the government would
claim the money.
Ten fire engines battled the blaze for over four hours to bring it
under control.
The fire fighting personnel remained at the scene Tuesday morning
to completely douse the blaze.
The airport was being used for non-commercial purpose since 2008
when the new airport became operational at Shamshabad, about 30 km
from the city.
Besides, the Aviation Academy, the Begumpet airport is used for
VIP flights, private chartered aircraft and by the Indian Air
Force.
Media persons were not allowed inside the airport area and the
officials were also tight lipped about the exact damages or what
triggered the inferno.
The huge flames and explosions spread panic among people in
Bowenpalli and surrounding areas in Secunderabad.
The state government has ordered a high-level probe into the
incident.
The home secretary will head the investigations to find out if
there was any sabotage or it was only an electrical short circuit,
said the minister.
Several parts of other aircraft and equipment kept at the hangar
were also destroyed.
"Everything is reduced to ashes," said an official after visiting
the site.
The presence of large quantity of aviation fuel made the task of
fire fighting more difficult. Eye witnesses said within a few
seconds, the fire engulfed the entire area.
The minister said they would make alternate arrangements for the
chief minister's travel.
Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, who is currently visiting
Visakhapatnam, was using the spacious helicopter, which can fly
long distance and also has the provision of power point
presentation.
His predecessors K. Rosaiah and Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy also used
to fly in Augusta AW 139. Though it was purchased during
Rajasekhara Reddy's tenure, he was using both the new one as well
as Bell 430.
Reddy was killed on Sep 2, 2009, when the Bell helicopter crashed
in bad weather in Kurnool district.
Augusta was also used for rescue and relief operations in the
floods in Kurnool district in 2009 and after the Maoist attack on
policemen in Andhra-Orissa border area.
|
|
|
|
Home |
Top of the Page
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
I |
|
|
|
|
More Headlines |
|
NASA mulls new lighting system on ISS |
|
Aerobic exercise best for weight and fat
loss |
|
Now Karnataka BJP chief under scanner over corruption |
|
Ad campaign in America to reclaim ‘Jihad’ |
|
Google takes Delhi's iconic Chandni Chowk
market online |
|
Aligarh Muslim University sets up innovation
council |
|
Gujarat polling highest at 70.2 per cent:
CEC |
|
Mumbai children dressed as trees create world record
|
|
Mulayam hints at withdrawing support to UPA |
|
Pakistani PM assures support to Kashmiri leaders |
|
Woman operates robotic arm using thoughts |
|
England script famous series win on Indian soil |
|
|
|
Top Stories |
|
Rajya Sabha passes promotion quota bill
The Constitution (One Hundred Seventeenth Amendment) Bill, 2012,
was passed with 206-10 votes after a debate spread over two days.
»
Parliament disrupted over quota bill, Muslim
reservation
SP sharpens knives, but will it strike at Congress?
Protests for, against promotions quota
across UP, Uttarakhand
|
|
|
|
Most Read |
|
 Provide job quota to Muslims, demands
Samajwadi Party
On a day when the Rajya Sabha is to vote on a constitutional
amendment bill to provide reservation in promotions to the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, Samajwadi Party
»
|
|
Woman gang-raped in Delhi bus, battles for life
A
23-year-old woman was battling for life here Monday after a gang
of men tortured and raped her in a moving bus and threw her out on
the road along with her boyfriend, police said.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit expressed disgust over the
horrific incident even as police detained four suspects for »
|
|
|
|
News Pick |
|
 Ad
campaign in America to reclaim ‘Jihad’
US Muslims launched an advertising and social media
campaign in the hopes of reclaiming the word ‘Jihad’ from
extremists, who insist on equating the spiritual quest with
terrorism.
»
|
|
RTI activist sends legal notice to prime minister
An Uttar
Pradesh Right to Information (RTI) activist has sent a legal
notice to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his comment on the
"frivolous and vexatious use of the RTI Act" in his address
at the 7th annual convention »
|
|
Pakistani PM assures support to Kashmiri leaders
Pakistani
Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf Monday reiterated Islamabad's
diplomatic and moral support to Kashmiris to get their right to
self-determination from India, when he met Kashmiri separatist »
|
|
 Gujarat polling highest at 70.2 per cent:
CEC
Gujarat
registered a record voter turnout at 70.2 percent in the two-phase
polling, Chief Election Commissioner V.S. Sampath said Monday »
|
|
|
|
Picture of the Day |
|
 |
|
Tri Service Chiefs paying homage
at Amar Jawan Jyoti, India Gate on the occasion of Navy Day in
New Delhi on December 04, 2012. |
|
|
|
Recommend the story to
your friends |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Comments
|
Quick links